May D. Pearson, 91, of Barre, a loving wife, mother, and nana, passed away on September 2, 2018 surrounded by her devoted family at the Quaboag Nursing Home, West Brookfield, MA. She was predeceased by her husband, Harry W. Pearson, to whom she was married for 70 years. She leaves two sons, Harry N. Pearson and wife, Glenna of Brookfield, and Randy Pearson and wife, Barbara of Barre. She left four grandchildren, Jonathan Pearson, Aaron Pearson and wife Sara, Sheri Donahue and husband Tom, and Russell Seitz and wife Naomi. There were also nine great grandchildren and two great great grandchildren, all of whom she loved dearly. She leaves her sister Carolyn Bartek of Rutland, and two brothers, William Openshaw of Auburn and Donald Openshaw of East Brookfield. She also leaves many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her parents, William and Irene Openshaw of Worcester, and brothers Norman Openshaw of Shrewsbury and Kenneth Openshaw of Holden.
She was truly multi-talented. She was a star basketball player and team captain at Classical High School in Worcester. An outstanding soprano, she sang in choirs, often as a soloist. She was a gifted craftsperson with many skills including knitting, upholstery, and counted cross stitch. She was a skilled seamstress and loved making clothes for her young sons. She enjoyed table games of all types, especially cards. Until moving to Florida, she was a member of the First Baptist Church of Holden.
After graduating high school, she worked at Norton Company (St. Gobain) and later as a school bus driver. She was commended by the Registry of Motor Vehicles for avoiding a potentially very serious accident when the bus brakes failed while driving on a snowy downhill road with a fully loaded school bus, by guiding the bus to a halt through the road-side snow bank.
May and husband Harry retired to Florida in 1979 and returned in the 1997 to be close to their families.
A memorial service for May will be at the Sturbridge Federated Church, 4 Maple Street, Sturbridge, MA on Sunday, September 16 at 2:00 PM.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Quaboag Rehab Activity Fund, 47 East Main St., West Brookfield, MA 01585 Attn: Susan Chiasson.
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